About the Migration Agency

In Sweden, the Migration Agency is the authority that considers applications from people who want to take up permanent residence in Sweden, come for a visit, seek protection from persecution or become Swedish citizens.

Financial support for asylum seekers

It is important that you can support yourself. If you do not earn your own money and you do not have some other resources, you can apply for financial support from the Migration Agency. The financial support is made up of several parts: daily expenses compensation, accommodation (e.g. room, apartment etc.) compensation and special allowance.

When you seek asylum you must tell the Migration Agency how much money or other resources you have. If you do not have any own resources you get daily compensation to cover your daily expenses.

If your financial situation changes, for example you get a job, you must tell this to the Migration Agency. Not to tell that you are earning money while receiving daily expenses compensation is a criminal offense. Your right to daily expenses compensation may also be affected if you move. Therefore, always inform the Migration Agency if you have a new address.

The right to daily expenses compensation expires

You lose your right to financial support if you have received a decision that your application was rejected or that you will be deported and this decision is in force, or when the period for voluntary departure has ended. This applies to you who are adult and do not live together with children under 18 years who you are responsible for.

Daily expenses compensation

Daily expenses compensation varies in amount depending on whether you live in a Migration Agency accommodation with food included, or in an accommodation with no food included.

If you are granted daily expenses compensation by the Migration Agency you will get a banking card which is linked to the account in which the money is deposited.

Families which have more than two children will get the whole daily compensation for the two eldest children and half the daily compensation for the other children.

Apart from food the daily compensation must suffice for clothes and shoes, health care and medicines, dental care, toilet articles, other consumer goods and leisure activities.

The daily compensation may be reduced if you

do not cooperate to establish your identity

hinder the investigation of your asylum request by hiding away

do not cooperate to organize your trip back home if you have received a decision rejecting your request or that you will be deported.

Special allowance

If you have a very strong need of something not covered by the daily compensation you can apply for a special allowance for it. You must demonstrate that you have a strong need of the item or service and that you cannot pay for it by yourself. It can be for example eyeglasses, a baby carriage or warm winter shoes. Migration Agency always makes an individual evaluation of the need.

You can only receive allowance for the cheapest alternative which is needed to satisfy the need.

When you are called to come to the Migration Agency for example to see about your asylum investigation, to meet with your reception administration officer or to participate in a group information event, you can get an allowance for your travel costs. Talk with the administration officer you will meet about his.

Residential compensation

If you have got a job or a job offer, you can apply for residential compensation. This is meant for employment which is longer than a three month period and when you have to move to a place where the Migration Agency does not have any residences to offer. The residential compensation is

850 kr/month for families

350 kr/month for a one person household.

Decision about financial compensation

When the Migration Agency has taken a decision about financial compensation, you will receive an acknowledgment about the decision

via an administrative officer at your reception entity or

through the so-called simplified notification.

Simplified notification means that the Swedish Migration Agency will send the decision via regular mail to the address you have given us. The next day we send another letter to the same address informing you that we have mailed a decision. We do this in order to minimize the risk of an error. In this way the Migration Agency considers that you have been informed of the decision (were notified) two weeks after we sent it to you. After that you have three weeks to appeal the decision.

If the address you gave us cannot be used and you are registered with the Swedish population register, the decision and the control letter will be sent to the address listed as your home address in the population register.

As long as you are registered with the Migration Agency it is important that you inform the reception unit of your current address. Also remember to check your mail on a regular basis. If you appeal the court may also choose to inform you of the decision using the simplified notification method.

If you want to appeal

If you think that the Migration Agency has taken a wrong decision about your compensation, you have the right to appeal the decision. In this case you shall deliver your appeal before the Migration Agency within three weeks from the day you got knowledge (were notified) of the decision. If the Migration Agency does not change the decision your appeal will be handed over to an administrative court of law which will examine the decision again. If the administrative court rejects your appeal, you can appeal before an Appeals Court (kammarrätten).

If you have questions about your daily compensation or other allowances

If you have general questions about financial support for asylum seekers you can phone to the Migration Agency. But if you have questions about your own compensation you have to come to the reception entity. The employees of the Migration Agency cannot talk about this on the telephone due to secrecy rules. Take your LMA card with you when you visit the reception entity.

Last updated: 3 January 2018

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If you wish to ask the Migration Agency a question you can find our contact details under the heading Contact us.